The MacMillan Reader

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Best-selling rhetorically-organized reader on the market. Separate chapters on the reading and writing process. Extensive pedagogy, including detailed introductions to each rhetorical pattern, more exercises and assignments than other readers, "before" and "after" student essays illustrating each mode. Extensive treatment on blending the rhetorical patterns. New: 1/5 of the selections; revised argumentation - persuasion chapter; more on blending patterns; more activities to help with prewriting and revising; more "paired" writing assignments, updated documentation chapter.

THEMATIC CONTENTS

xviii

(7)

PREFACE

xxv

1 THE READING PROCESS

1

(12)

Stage 1: Get an Overview of the Selection

2

(1)

Stage 2: Deepen Your Sense of the Selection

3

(1)

Stage 3: Evaluate the Selection

4

(2)

Phyllis Theroux

THE WORRY FACTOR Looking for a fast and easy way to wreck today? Try worrying about tomorrow.

6

(7)

2 THE WRITING PROCESS

13

(66)

Stage 1: Prewrite

14

(15)

Stage 2: Identify the Thesis

29

(5)

Stage 3: Support the Thesis With Evidence

34

(9)

Stage 4: Organize the Evidence

43

(9)

Stage 5: Write the First Draft

52

(14)

Stage 6: Revise the Essay

66

(5)

Student Essay

71

(2)

Commentary

73

(6)

3 DESCRIPTION

79

(60)

What Is Description?

79

(1)

How Description Fits Your Purpose and Audience

80

(2)

Suggestions for Using Description in an Essay

82

(4)

Student Essay

86

(3)

Commentary

89

(3)

Activities: Description

92

(2)

Gordon Parks

FLAVIO'S HOME Having battled poverty and prejudice himself, writer-photographer Gordon Parks visits a Brazilian slum and finds, among the wretched thousands forgotten by the outside world, a dying yet smiling boy.

94

(10)

Russell Baker

IN MY DAY The author visits his elderly mother in the hospital and muses on the entwining of lives within a family.

104

(8)

Joyce Maynard

THE YELLOW DOOR HOUSE When the author visits her childhood home in the company of her own children, she experiences a tug into the past as well as a pull into the future.

112

(7)

E. B. White

ONCE MORE TO THE LAKE Past, present, and future merge when White returns to a beloved boyhood spot.

119

(9)

Judith Ortiz Cofer

A PARTIAL REMEMBRANCE OF A PUERTO RICAN CHILDHOOD With wistful affection, the author recalls the laughter and lessons of the late-afternoon gathering of women in her family.

128

(8)

Additional Writing Topics

136

(3)

4 NARRATION

139

(52)

What Is Narration?

139

(1)

How Narration Fits Your Purpose and Audience

140

(1)

Suggestions for Using Narration in an Essay

141

(7)

Student Essay

148

(2)

Commentary

150

(2)

Activities: Narration

152

(2)

Maya Angelou

GRANDMOTHER'S VICTORY Angelou re-creates the collision of two worlds: the proper, highly patterned one of her childhood and the chaotic, uncivilized one of her neighbors.

154

(8)

George Orwell

SHOOTING AN ELEPHANT The author recounts a dramatic time when, under great pressure, he acted against his better instincts.

162

(9)

Annie Dillard

THE CHASE On a lazy winter morning, several children throw perfectly rounded snowballs at passing cars. Suddenly, one driver leaps from his car and gives chase.

171

(6)

Langston Hughes

SALVATION In the course of being "saved" during a revival meeting, a young boy's life is changed forever.

177

(5)

Sophronia Liu

SO TSI-FAI The tragedy of a classmate's brief, hopeless life continues, more than twenty years later, to haunt the author.

182

(6)

Additional Writing Topics

188

(3)

5 EXEMPLIFICATION

191

(66)

What Is Exemplification?

191

(1)

How Exemplification Fits Your Purpose and Audience

192

(3)

Suggestions for Using Exemplification in an Essay

195

(5)

Student Essay

200

(2)

Commentary

202

(4)

Activities: Exemplification

206

(2)

Charles Sykes

THE "VALUES" WASTELAND In the quest to teach kids to be broad-minded and non-judgmental, have we compromised their ability to distinguish between right and wrong? A respected journalist thinks we have.

208

(11)

Allen Pace Nilsen

SEXISM AND LANGUAGE Language, it seems, can be as prejudiced and unfair as people.

219

(9)

James Thurber

UNIVERSITY DAYS With irony and humor, Thurber portrays college as a struggle between diligent, well-meaning profs and innocent but dense students.

228

(8)

Neil Postman

FUTURE SHLOCK Unlike television, whose primary purpose is to entertain, Postman wants not to amuse us but to make us worry about what the all-mighty presence of TV is doing to our ability to think.

236

(12)

Barbara Ehrenreich

WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM MEN Do men simper, smile, and chatter aimlessly in an effort to be "nice"? No, says the author, and neither should women.

248

(7)

Additional Writing Topics

255

(2)

6 DIVISION-CLASSIFICATION

257

(62)

What Is Division-Classification?

257

(2)

How Division-Classification Fits Your Purpose and Audience

259

(2)

Suggestions for Using Division-Classification in an Essay

261

(5)

Student Essay

266

(4)

Commentary

270

(4)

Activities: Division-Classification

274

(2)

Judith Viorst

FRIENDS, GOOD FRIENDS--AND SUCH GOOD FRIENDS If you have a neighborhood friend, an on-the-job friend, a childhood friend, and a best friend, you'll enjoy Viorst's essay on degrees of intimacy.

276

(7)

William Zinsser

COLLEGE PRESSURES According to Zinsser, many students concentrate almost exclusively on the practical--and miss some of the most important parts of college life.

283

(10)

William Lutz

DOUBLESPEAK What do you call language that is specifically designed not to communicate? William Lutz has a name for it--doublespeak.

293

(8)

Ann McClintock

PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES IN TODAY'S ADVERTISING Propaganda is not just a tool of totalitarian states. American advertisers also use propaganda to get us to buy their products.

301

(9)

Janet Mendell Goldstein

THE QUICK FIX SOCIETY In our feverish attempts to save time, could we be missing the point of living?

310

(6)

Additional Writing Topics

316

(3)

7 PROCESS ANALYSIS

319

(64)

What Is Process Analysis?

319

(1)

How Process Analysis Fits Your Purpose and Audience

320

(2)

Suggestions for Using Process Analysis in an Essay

322

(6)

Student Essay

328

(3)

Commentary

331

(3)

Activities: Process Analysis

334

(3)

Bruce Jay Friedman

EATING ALONE IN RESTAURANTS For those who would rather starve than venture into a restaurant alone, Friedman offers some humorous yet helpful tips.

337

(7)

Nikki Giovanni

CAMPUS RACISM The advice that Giovanni gives Black students for succeeding at predominantly white institutions has relevance for nonminorities, too.

344

(6)

Jessica Mitford

THE AMERICAN WAY OF DEATH The funeral industry says more about our attitudes toward death than we care to admit.

350

(8)

Paul Roberts

HOW TO SAY NOTHING IN 500 WORDS An English professor analyzes a student essay, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

358

(15)

Caroline Rego

THE FINE ART OF COMPLAINING Shoddy service and malfunctioning products afflict us all, but some of us complain more effectively than others.

373

(7)

Additional Writing Topics

380

(3)

8 COMPARISON-CONTRAST

383

(54)

What Is Comparison-Contrast?

383

(1)

How Comparison-Contrast Fits Your Purpose and Audience

384

(2)

Suggestions for Using Comparison-Contrast in an Essay

386

(5)

Student Essay

391

(3)

Commentary

394

(3)

Activities: Comparison-Contrast

397

(2)

Rachel Carson

A FABLE FOR TOMORROW Ecologist Rachel Carson warns us that what seems like a night-mare will become all too real if we fail to protect the earth.

399

(4)

Suzanne Britt

THAT LEAN AND HUNGRY LOOK Beware the bony clutches of the thin person, says the author. Anyone who doesn't appreciate double-fudge brownies can't possibly understand the mysteries of life.

403

(5)

Richard Rodriguez

WORKERS A summer job teaches a college student some important things about himself and the world of work.

408

(9)

Deborah Tannen

LECTURING AND LISTENING A psycholinguist observes men and women struggling to connect and offers insight into the obstacles that get in the way of genuine communication.

417

(10)

Stephen Chapman

THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA Which, the author asks, is a more effective approach to punishment--a few moments of pain or many years of imprisonment? You decide.

427

(8)

Additional Writing Topics

435

(2)

9 CAUSE-EFFECT

437

(62)

What Is Cause-Effect?

437

(1)

How Cause-Effect Fits Your Purpose and Audience

438

(1)

Suggestions for Using Cause-Effect in an Essay

439

(8)

Student Essay

447

(3)

Commentary

450

(4)

Activities: Cause-Effect

454

(2)

George Gallup, Jr.

THE FALTERING FAMILY Is our most basic institution beginning to crumble? Statistics suggest that it may well be.

456

(11)

Jacques D'Amboise

SHOWING WHAT IS POSSIBLE By taking control of one's body, this celebrated dancer explains, it is possible to take control of one's life.

467

(7)

Alice Walker

BEAUTY: WHEN THE OTHER DANCER IS THE SELF A disfiguring eye injury leads the author to some insights about beauty, self-image, and identity.

474

(10)

Lewis Thomas

THE LIE DETECTOR Buried deep within us, Thomas believes, is something that hates a lie.

484

(5)

Jonathan Kozol

ARE THE HOMELESS CRAZY? Although evidence doesn't support the idea that most of the homeless are mentally ill, people have reasons for clinging stubbornly to that belief.

489

(7)

Additional Writing Topics

496

(3)

10 DEFINITION

499

(50)

What Is Definition?

499

(1)

How Definition Fits Your Purpose and Audience

500

(1)

Suggestions for Using Definition in an Essay

501

(5)

Student Essay

506

(2)

Commentary

508

(4)

Activities: Definition

512

(2)

K. C. Cole

ENTROPY A noted science writer observes that disorder is the natural order of things--in her life and in the universe at large.

514

(6)

Laura Schlessinger

"WE'RE ONLY HUMAN" Why, the host of a popular talk-radio show asks, do we expect so little of ourselves? Why do we think it is "only human" to want to take the easy way out or get something for nothing?

520

(10)

Gloria Naylor

"MOMMY, WHAT DOES `NIGGER' MEAN?" The author contemplates the question she asked her mother as a child and arrives at a surprisingly complex answer.

530

(6)

Marie Winn

TV ADDICTION You don't have to abuse drugs or alcohol to be an addict. Such a label may apply if you have trouble turning off the television set.

536

(6)

William Raspberry

THE HANDICAP OF DEFINITION Raspberry looks at the expectations that many of his fellow African-Americans have for themselves--and sees a serious problem.

542

(5)

Additional Writing Topics

547

(2)

11 ARGUMENTATION-PERSUASION

549

(132)

What Is Argumentation-Persuasion?

549

(1)

How Argumentation-Persuasion Fits Your Purpose and Audience

550

(5)

Suggestions for Using Argumentation-Persuasion in an Essay

555

(19)

Student Essay

574

(7)

Commentary

581

(5)

Activities: Argumentation-Persuasion

586

(2)

Mary Sherry

IN PRAISE OF THE "F" WORD The fear of receiving a failing grade can go a long way toward getting the attention of non-achieving students.

588

(6)

Yuh Ji-Yeon

LET'S TELL THE STORY OF ALL AMERICA'S CULTURES In school, the author's history books taught about the settling of the West but not about the massacre of the native peoples living there; about the American belief in equality, but not about Americans denied citizenship because of their race.

594

(6)

Mark Twain

THE DAMNED HUMAN RACE With scathing irony, this celebrated writer exposes the violent nature of the lowest creature on earth.

600

(8)

Jonathan Swift

A MODEST PROPOSAL One of the world's great satirists proposes an outrageous solution to his country's economic problems.

608

(11)

Nat Hentoff

FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS Are America's campuses still havens for political debate, or has the prevailing mood silenced all views except those that are "politically correct?"

619

(9)

Examining an Issue: Date Rape

628

(13)

Camille Paglia

RAPE: A BIGGER DANGER THAN FEMINISTS KNOW The widespread prevalence of date rape, says the author, is evidence that feminism has failed young women.

628

(7)

Susan Jacoby

COMMON DECENCY According to Jacoby, a man who forces himself on a woman is neither misled nor confused; he's simply a rapist.

635

(6)

Examining an Issue: Experimentation on Animals

641

(18)

Ron Kline

A SCIENTIST: "I AM THE ENEMY" One of those "vilified, inhumane physician-scientists" explains why animal research is too valuable to abandon.

641

(5)

Patricia Curtis

THE ARGUMENT AGAINST ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION In our homes, animals are pampered, valued companions. In medical laboratories, animals are subjected to gruesome experiments, sometimes for no justifiable reason.

646

(13)

Examining an Issue: Affirmative Action

659

(19)

Roger Wilkins

RACISM HAS ITS PRIVILEGES A longtime civil rights activist argues that the call to eliminate affirmative-action programs is rooted in wrongheaded thinking, willful ignorance, even outright lies.

659

(11)

Shelby Steele

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: THE PRICE OF PREFERENCE Black writer and scholar Shelby Steele describes the discomfort he experiences at the prospect of his own children being offered preferential treatment because of their color.

670

(8)

Additional Writing Assignments

678

(3)

12 FOR FURTHER READING

681

(36)

The Patterns in Action: During the Writing Process

681

(1)

The Patterns in Action: In an Essay

682

(2)

Virginia Woolf

THE DEATH OF THE MOTH Watching the death throes of a moth leads Woolf to wonder at the mystery of life and at the force that opposes it.

684

(7)

Virginia Woolf

PROFESSIONS FOR WOMEN A celebrated writer describes whom she had to kill in order to succeed in her chosen work.

691

(6)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE: COMMUNITY OR CHAOS? America's most influential civil rights leader pleads eloquently for a drastic change in the way that governments pursue world peace.

697

(5)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

THE WORLD HOUSE Despite revolutions in science, technology, medicine, and politics, the greatest challenge of all still faces the human race.

702

(5)

Joan Didion

ON GOING HOME Taking her baby daughter to visit her parents, Didion contemplates the distinctions between the two places she claims as "home."

707

(4)

Joan Didion

ON SELF-RESPECT When Didion's faith in the power of clean hair, good manners, and a high IQ is shaken, she's encouraged to ponder the notion that inner peace has to do with something more substantial and deeply rooted.